Ian McDiarmid reacts to the controversy around his Palpatine return in The Rise of Skywalker

While with each passing year, it does seem that a portion of the fanbase softens on the sequel trilogy, there are still plenty of Star Wars fans who hate the movies. Specifically, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker get a lot of flak, with the latter earning a good amount of vitriol for the return of Emperor Palpatine, who appeared to have died at the end of Return of the Jedi.

Speaking with Variety, Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid was asked if he had any thoughts on the controversy surrounding Palpatine's return. He had the following to say:

"There's always something, isn't there? I don't read that stuff and I'm not online. So it'll only reach me if someone mentions it. I thought there might be a bit of a fuss about bringing him back. But as I said, mine and Palpatine's logic was entirely reasonable."

"This man who was horribly maimed thought maybe one day it might happen to him, and we've got to have a plan B," McDiarmid continued. "I loved the whole idea that he should come back and be even more powerful than he was before. Though this time, he had to be utterly destroyed. So I think he's dead."

McDiarmid has been playing the character for more than 40 years at this point, so it seems if anyone knows Palpatine, it's him and George Lucas. But, there will still be fans who find the return a tremendously tough pill to swallow.